To cut homicide rate, stop carrying guns

I am saddened to watch the news each morning concerning the previous night's murders. I've watched Mayor Greg Ballard, civic leaders and the Ten Point Coalition discuss the problem and sound so discouraged.

Discouraged I think because they all see the elephant in the room but won't acknowledge it. They point their fingers at each other and debate how many new police officers the city should add, knowing full well that won't help stop or even slow the rate of murders.

They know what the real problem is. Every city in America has the same problem.

Our government officials have figured out how we can go to a professional basketball or football game without fear of being shot. I cannot recall the last time someone was shot on an airplane.

Our Founding Fathers stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Somehow, someone determined that the right to carry a gun became more important than life, liberty and happiness.

The problem is not that everyone has a right to own a gun, the problem is carrying guns in public.I have a gun to protect my family in my home. I keep it locked up where only I can get to it. My life, liberty and happiness are more important than my right to carry a gun.

John Gill

Greenwood

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To cut homicide rate, stop carrying guns

I am saddened to watch the news each morning concerning the previous night's murders. I've watched Mayor Greg Ballard, civic leaders and the Ten Point Coalition discuss the problem and sound so